It is time baby, please get out!

Striegler photography...amazing!

How far along? 40 weeks. It is offically my due date. Child, please vacate the premises.

Total weight gain/loss? 30 pounds gained of course! I have been so strict with the sweets all of my pregnancy because well, I LOVE sugar…but I totally took advantage of the whole “you don’t gain weight the last week or two of your pregnancy” fact/myth.  I have eaten more junk food than I’ve ever allowed myself in my life! I actually indulged and LOVED it…no guilt here! It has been so amazing. ½ dozen Krispy Kreme’s, 2 bags of peppermint white chocolate kisses, 1 bag of reeses peanut butter cups, chocolate chip cookies, sour patch kids (watermelon of course)…and I’m sure there are things I’m leaving out.  But guess what…I still lost a pound.  Thank you Jesus!  Let’s hope my kid doesn’t have sugar issues after the last two weeks.

Maternity clothes?  As this pregnancy winds down I am happy to say that I only purchased 1 tank top (which I faithfully have worn every single day since about 7 months), 1 shirt, 1 dress, and 1 pair of pants. Yay. Cannot WAIT to have a full wardrobe again.

Sleep: You bet your bottom dollar! Since arriving in Philly and getting our bed set up…we sleep like babies.  We crawl into bed and the next thing we know that darn alarm is waking us up.  I LOVE IT!

Best moment this week: Definitely was this weekend.  Jarod and I had the mentality that this will probably be our last weekend with out a child so we did all those wonderful things you supposedly can’t do when the baby arrives.  We slept in.  We watched about 4 movies. We cooked food at all hours of the day and night.  We took long showers.  And spontaneous shopping trips.  It was wonderful.  I have to say that I have the most amazing husband in the whole entire world.  He loves me so much and I feel it every moment of the day!

Movement: She is still moving like crazy.  She kicks day and night. I generally wake up around 5 am to make a bathroom run and she is kicking when I fall asleep and kicking when I get up.  When does this child sleep? 

Food Aversions:  None.

Food Cravings: None.  I have always watched very carefully what I eat (moderation is key) but these past 2 weeks…not a chance.  And I have loved it!  I’m sure my post pregnancy body won’t enjoy that I ate so much stinking sugar and crap for 2 weeks but this weeks body…loves me.

Gender: Baby girl

Names: Yes!  Still not telling until she arrives.  So very close. 

Symptoms: I have been having Braxton-Hicks for about 1 ½ weeks now.  It started last Thursday and we were convinced I was in labor (except that it didn’t hurt at all so I was pretty skeptical) but my contractions were coming every 5 minutes for about an hour but they weren’t increasing in length nor getting more painful so I knew something had to be up.  After 30 in one day…they just stopped.  I had not had but 1 single contraction around week 26, so I naturally got pretty excited.  Bummer!  Now I officially hate their guts.  They come and go ALL day long but are getting me no where.  Just playing tricks on my uterus.  I think I’m honestly looking forward to the first painful one so I can know…the show is starting!  Thankfully, I have not had a lot of symptoms since my morning sickness.  I mean yes heartburn but its totally manageable.  Bleeding gums after brushing/flossing…gargle some Listerine.  But I have not felt crazy hormonal, needed to pee every few minutes, nor had strange aches.  I have actually been pretty happy through out this whole pregnancy.  I have felt great and am so happy for her to stay in as long as she wants, although I am getting SO impatient because I want to meet her right now.   Update: just came from the doctor...we have nothing ladies and gentlemen. NOTHING!!!!!

Belly button in or out? Just a little out. Not much though.

Rings on or off? Still on and fitting perfectly!

Stretch marks?  Nope!  THANK YOU LORD.  I feel safe to say this considering my due date is today, that if I don’t have them yet…I don’t think I will.

What I miss?  Sleeping on my stomach.  I miss it so much.  I didn’t even know I liked it until it was gone.  And bending over without feeling like I just got rejected. I can still stretch and am limber as always but my stomach definitely puts a halt on simply bending straight over to grab something!

What am I most looking forward to: Seeing my sweet Baby girls face.  Hearing her voice. Holding her little fingers and tiny toes.  Kissing her face.  This week’s event’s couldn’t progress any quicker. I am ready!!

Weekly wisdom: Several people have told me to take advantage of having family here after her birth and allow them to cook and clean because once they go home…exhaustion sets in.  Woo HOO!

Milestones: Not going into labor early during our crazy move to Philly.  Reaching full term and sailing past it with flying colors. Reaching my due date…granted anything can happen in the next 48 hours but we are here baby!

Baby Ringlet- make your grand entrance, the world awaits you.

1. Purchase Diapers

2. Purchase crib

3. Buy lots of adorable clothes

4. Acquire pack & play

5. Find a middle name

6. Paint crib

7. Sand/paint dressers

8. Move to Philly

9. Get nursery ready

10. Have her!

Her crib

Her dresser after we repainted it

31 weeks

32 weeks

37 weeks

somewhere between 33-36 weeks

39 weeks

38 weeks

In other news, Jarod and I are happily moved in.  I know it has been a whole month since we arrived but I haven’t blogged.  It is  more difficult now because we don’t have internet in our house so I haven’t really wanted to tote this giant computer anywhere.  We love our apartment.  All 875 square feet.  It is so wonderful to have our own home again.  We are too independent to be living with other people.  It was such a joy opening all of our containers that had been closed for 1 month and 1 week shy of 3 years!  We were surprised to remember all that we had.  TONS of stuff.  We ended up getting rid of 5 HUGE Rubbermaid bins packed with stuff.  We still have half of our small storage space with stuff we want to get rid of that we’ve decided in this month we don’t need.  We spent the first few weeks without a vehicle and it was more difficult than we anticipated due to the precise location of our apartment.  The shopping centers, grocery stores, bus pickups, etc are about 1.6 miles away in all directions.  We walked it several times but 36 weeks carrying groceries was a no-go.  And my sweet hubby sitting on a bus for upwards of 3+ hours a day-absolutely not!  So alas…we bought a car.  Yay!  We are mobile for the first time since January 2010.  We are so thankful for our car.  The Lord is AMAZING.   He provides just what you need, when you need it.  

our sweet ride!

Zuba has had a rough transition.  He doesn’t necessarily care for the staying inside all day but has adjusted to it.  When we open the door to go outside he sorta creeps out like a freaky stalker looking for squirrels or other dogs to pounce on.  I guess he makes it fun when he does go outside.

Poor zuba. Wishing he were outside...

How we pass the time....

As you all know...I'm pretty nuts about Christmas. I LOVE IT! It makes me incredible happy. We put our tree up the day after Thanksgiving. Here's a pic. Zuba thinks he is a gift so he sleeps under it. So cute.

our little gift.